


Out of Turn

by clgfanfic



Category: War of the Worlds (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-21
Updated: 2013-02-21
Packaged: 2017-11-30 00:14:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/693141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clgfanfic/pseuds/clgfanfic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A missing scene from the episode "Resurrection."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Out of Turn

**Author's Note:**

> Originally published in the zine Green Floating Weirdness #10 under the pen name Laura Brush.

_"I'm sorry."_

 

"Is it?  Is it really over?"

          Blackwood's words hung in the living room, damping the spirits of the others.

          "I pray it is," Suzanne said softly.  Standing, she gave the three men a thin smile.  "I'm going to go check on my daughter and go to bed.  I'm exhausted."

          "That sounds like a plan," Norton agreed.  "I'm beat, too, and I missed the fireworks."  He yawned to emphasize the point.

          "Good night," Harrison called softly from the porch.

          "G'night," Drake said, shifting into Gertrude and rolling out after Suzanne.

          Ironhorse reached out and turned off the light, throwing the room into semidarkness.  He sipped his coffee and stared into the dancing flames of the fire.

          Blackwood stepped back in, closing the French doors behind him.  Silently he studied the soldier.  Sitting in the chair, he almost looked vulnerable.  Maybe it was the slightly hunched shoulders, or the haunted expression in the black eyes.  With a shiver, he stepped up next to the fire and warmed his hands.

          "Colonel," Harrison said softly.  "I think I owe you an apology."

          "Oh?" was the uncertain reply.

          "Yes.  I think a said some things that were… out of turn."

          A slight smile lifted the right side of Ironhorse's lips.  "Forget it, Doctor."

          "No," Harrison said, looking sideways to meet the colonel's gaze.  There was real pain there.  Despite what the man said, he was hurting, and Blackwood had contributed to it.  "I can't."

          Ironhorse shrugged.

          "My crack about you believing in aliens…" he said, and saw the flash of pain on the soldier's face before he looked away.  It had been a cruel remark, and he knew it.  "It was… out of line."

          Ironhorse considered the words for a moment, his eyes steadfastly fixed on the fire.  His lips pressed together, disappearing into a line that Blackwood was beginning to understand.

          The black eyes flickered up, meeting Blackwood's steady blue gaze.  "Yes.  It was."

          "I'm sorry."

          There was a beat, each man evaluating the other.  Ironhorse nodded once and stood.  "Apology accepted, Doctor."  With a turn he headed out of the room.

"Colonel?" Blackwood called.

          "Yes?"

          "Do you believe it's over?"

          "I don't know."

          "I can't believe it.  There weren't enough of them there…  They got away with hundreds of barrels…"

          "We'll just have to wait and see if Mr. Drake picks up any more of their transmissions."

          Harrison nodded.  "It's back to the same old thing," he sighed.  "Waiting."

          "Preferable to the alternative."

          Harrison nodded.  "Yes, Colonel.  It is."

          "Good night, Doctor," Ironhorse said, then headed for the kitchen to drop off his empty coffee cup.

          "Good night, Colonel," Harrison echoed, forgoing the 'pleasant dreams' appellation.  He had a feeling that none of their dreams were going to be pleasant for a long time to come.


End file.
